


You Matter

by HenryHeck (orphan_account)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Im not sure if I'll finish this, M/M, TEMPORARILY DISCONTINUED, hopefully it'll be back soon enough, my friends are forcing me to write this help me, probably will get orse in the next two or three chapters, really mild violence, this is gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6409060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/HenryHeck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry: (German) Meaning the general of an army<br/>Louis: (French) Meaning a great warrior</p><p>Harry is the general of an army at war. He takes an interest in a promising soldier.</p><p>UPDATE: Okay so I worked really hard on chapters 4 and 5 but managed to lose them. I had a lot of fun writing this but losing those made me lose my already dwindling interest in continuing to work on this. However, I don't want this to mean the end of this fic because I still love the concept. If you're a bottom Louis Stan and want to continue the fic comment below and I'll make you a co author so the story will continue. Sorry guys.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Oops... Hi...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [day7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/day7/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I know nothing about fighting or weapons.

The general is a tall, stern, no-nonsense man. Good, Louis thinks to himself, no sentimental garbage, just combat. Just his chance at redemption. 

Training started at the first hint of sunrise, Louis was partnered with some scrawny boy who couldn’t lift 15 kilos to save his life. Louis doesn't hold back, he swings the training sword with all of his strength, over and over. He stops a minute to catch his breath as the boy cowers and uses his sword as a barrier between him and Louis

“Soldier!” The general grabs Louis’ shoulder, he instinctively shakes it off. “You’re a reckless fighter, you’ll get yourself killed before we get to the battlefield if you keep going like that.”

Louis felt anger rising in his chest. “Maybe,” He growled, “My priorities involve the success of the army, rather than that of one individual, What do you think, General?”

Bad call, Louis. He prepares for a smack across the head, some gross odd-job, he hopes military rape was just a myth and tries not to flinch as General Styles steps closer.

“What’s your name, kid?” He asks calmly, and Louis shivers involuntarily.

“Tomlinson. Louis Tomlinson.” He was going to be punished as an example as to what happens to people who mouth off, he knows it. 

The General nods curtly, and goes back to his usual spot, occasionally glancing in Louis’ general direction. 'I’m on his shit list!' Louis hears himself screaming internally, 'Styles’ using me for canon fodder or he's gonna kill me before battle, you idiot!' It was a long day, to say the least.  
…

Louis sat up in his tent, tired and confused. He really had to pee. It was dark outside and sticky with moisture in the air. He crawled out of his camp and made his way towards some trees, careful not to wake anyone up. He was almost there when he saw another figure in the trees. 

'This is fine,' Louis said to himself silently, 'just gonna be quiet, he won’t notice, and I’ll go back to bed. No big deal.' Just be quiet, tiptoe and—

Snap

Jesus fucking christ. The man jumped at the sudden sound, getting a few drips of pee onto Louis’ pants. He was absolutely mortified, he blew his cover, and got piss on himself. He felt like crying, but that’d make it even worse.

“Oops…” The all too familiar voice said. 

“Uh… Hi?” Louis felt himself turn pink as the general zipped up his pants. God, even without any decent vision this could not get more embarrassing. 

“What brings you out here at night, Tomlinson… Louis? Whatever you prefer?”  
“…Yeah, same reason you’re here.” 

“Really?” Styles’ voice was way too excited for someone who realized the guy he peed on also needed to go. Louis really hoped this wasn’t going where he thought it was going. 

The general grabbed Louis by the wrist and ran uphill like a giddy schoolchild. “Here, Louis,” He said, an obvious smile in his voice, “I know the perfect spot!” Please no. 

Finally they made it to the top of a grassy hill. The sky was pitch black and freckled with brilliant white stars. The crescent moon gave enough light to show the ear-to-ear grin on the general’s face as he stared serenely at the sky. 

“It’s amazing, General…”

“Harry, call me Harry.” He smiled and patted the ground next to him gesturing for Louis to join him. 

They stayed like that for a while, Louis wished it lasted forever. But Harry couldn’t let it be.

“You have a lot of potential Lou,” He interjected in the quiet of the night. “Why do you fight like you’re running out of time? Like it doesn’t matter whether or not you get killed out there?”

“…Because I don’t, I have nothing else for me here. After the war I’ve finished what I need to do. There’s no use planning a life afterwards.” Louis shifted his weight back onto his arms to support him, when did he start leaning on Harry anyways? 

Harry turned over to look at Louis. “There’ll always be something. Meet me here when training starts, okay?”

Louis stood up “I’m going to get some rest for tomorrow. You get some too, General.”

“You might not know it and I don't know what happened to you, but there are people that care about you Lou, remember that.” Harry said. Louis pretended not to hear.

Louis never did go to the bathroom, now that he thought about it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis thinks he knows what he's doing but he doesn't. Watch him crash and burn.

Louis wakes up with the grumble of all the others. The sun streaked the horizon with pink but it was still dark. Louis looks up to stare at the stars for a moment, feeling like he was forgetting something. _Stars..._ the general- Harry. Louis rushes to put on his clothes and runs to The General's tent. 

Harry is waiting for him, sitting on the ground and lighting up when he sees Louis.

"Good morning, Louis," he says as he stands up. 

"Why are _you_ in such a good mood today?"

Harry is taken aback. "Just being nice, are you okay?"

...Oh, maybe that was a dick move. Louis shifts uncomfortably, staring at the ground as he nods. The two walk in awkward silence uphill, through the trees, and to the place they were the night before. By now, most of the sky is a soft pink-orange and a brief pause is taken to appreciate it and take it in. 

"Alright," Harry tosses his student a wooden sword, "hit me with your best shot."

Louis pauses, he doesn't necessarily want to hit Harry. He relies on rage to fuel his power and he's not sure he could even get mad at Harry at all.

"I'm ready, Louis. You're allowed to hit me."

He takes a deep breath, he isn't hitting Harry, he is fighting the men who took everything from him. He takes the sword in both hands, raises it over his head, brings it down at full force and-

Louis gets wood, not that wood, but a sword in his side. He is knocked to the ground and looks at Harry in shock. "swinging overhead leaves you wide open for attack. Again." He lowers his hand to help Louis up.

He swings from the side, Harry blocks, ducks, releases his sword, and strikes Louis again, in the leg this time. "Better," Harry smiles a little, "but it's better to stab, harder to block."

Louis can't get angry at him, it's useless. He cant fight off of the battlefield. Louis stabs weakly and sits down.

"You sure you're okay, Lou?"

Louis stares at the grass, he feels like crying.

"...Wanna stop for a bit?" Harry sits next to Louis now.

Louis lays on his back, a lump in his throat as he remembers his nightmares.

"I'll talk to you later, but even if you want to die, every soldier counts. The war needs you." Louis doesn't want to talk feelings, he doesn't want to to cry in front of Harry about his shortcomings, what he should've done, his family... He just can't. 

"I'm gonna take a nap." Louis lowers his voice to hide the wavering in his speech.

Of course he's just a soldier. He never was special, Harry is just a general trying to train a weak link. It was just training a soldier, so why is Louis so bothered by it? Why does he care so much about him?

. . .

Louis wakes up in a cold sweat, how long was he out? It's almost dark. The nightmare was different this time. It wasn't about his family's last moments. He scrambles up again and makes his way to Harry's tent, other soldiers are preparing for bed, they probably wonder why a soldier is running barefoot at full speed after a day of work.

He opens the tent without thinking, Harry looks at him, more than likely confused as to why Louis barged in right before he fell asleep. Louis sits at the foot of the bed where the general sits up to listen to his apprentice. He wants to tell him, to say everything and stay with Harry all night. Tell him what? "Hey I had a nightmare about you and want to discuss my past and feelings?" No, you don't just do that. You can't tell a guy you care about him and spill your guts. You just cant. This is a war, don't get friendly in a dangerous bloodbath.

"...What's going on Lou? Is there something you want?" Louis isn't sure want he wants, himself.

"Are you hurt?" Harry got up and checked for injuries. How could he forget? Louis' a soldier, a piece of the puzzle, a weak link the general was trying to fix. Louis stays silent, feeling red rush to his face. It occurred to him that he may have boundary issues. Now isn't the time for a psych evaluation, though, Harry is waiting and probably thinks Louis' a freak. Why is he here? He has no idea.  
Wait- he's got it, it's perfect.

"Sorry, zoned-out for a moment. I was wondering if you wanted to look at the stars again?" Perfect, still a little more sentimental than wanted, but it made sense. 

"Anything else?"

"Nah, that's all." Louis is a bad liar.

His excuse seems passable until he actually gets to the hill and looks up. Clouds cover the entire sky, a faint light escapes through where the moon is. Nothing to focus on but Harry and the nightmare. Louis leans over onto Harry. Wait- is that weird? He could've pulled it off as a mistake but it's been too long now. Just gotta act natural, that's all.

Louis sees fire, his home engulfed in flames as he stands helplessly in front of the disintegrating house. The men held him still, he watches the sword near Harry's side, the look of fear in his eyes, and-

No. Louis isn't at home, he is on a grassy hill, he can hear the light breeze move it around. The house isn't on fire, there are no flames, he can smell the fresh air. Harry isn't dying, he is sitting with him right now, he can feel him holding Louis right now. Tears well up in Louis' eyes, it's okay to cry now, it's dark and no one will notice. Louis sobbs as quietly as he could until he dozes off. 

. . .

Louis wakes up in a bed that isn't his, there's an empty spot in a cramped place that couldn't be comfortable to sleep in. He could've sworn he heard Harry's voice and it looks like Harry's tent. He had no nightmares and felt okay, so it's unlikely anything happened while he was out. It's still dark out and nothing seems wrong, so Louis lays down and goes back to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is clueless and way too nice I cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sick and I handwrote chapters 3-5 and I have five right now so I can stevenbomb this shit but I don't know where four is and can't get up cuz I'm borderline bedridden and am supposed to be sleeping.

Louis’ breathing slowed down, Harry figured he'd cried himself to sleep. Poor guy, he wants to hold him and tell him it's okay. He wants to help him, stay with him after the war, stargaze forever. But that's not his job, he supposed to train him for battle, make him a soldier. But stil…  
Sitting here thinking wasn't his job either, we can't sleep out here all night, he needs to get to his 10, wherever it was. Harry panicked, taking him to his own tent wasn't the best idea but it's what he had to do. Harry scooped Louis up and trudged downhill, he was so light. He placed Louis in bed and covered him up carefully. He can sleep on the floor, it's not a problem.  
Harry can't sleep on the floor, this is a problem. Louis sleeps in his bed, he deserves it, but Harry is so tired, he's not sure how many hours have passed and he needs to sleep. If only he could get in bed with Louis – no. Harry cannot get in bed with him, that is an invasion of privacy. Harry is not getting up right now. He is not crawling over Louis carefully to not wake him up. He is certainly not grabbing whatever covers he can right now. That is not what Harry’s doing.  
Harry still can't sleep, any move could wake Louis out and he can't wake him up. He fell asleep for a little, still tired, and consider getting up. Staying means Louis waking up and assuming Harry took advantage of him. Getting up means waking Louis up and assuming Harry took advantage of him. “It's all right, Harry” he spoke to himself in his head, "Sit up, that wasn't too hard was it?" Shift weight on left hand, move body over Louis, and —  
Oh no, we was moving, Harry was on top of Louis and he was waking up. Harry wrote to his right side, slamming his shoulder into the ground as he fell out of bed. "Harry?" Louis mumbled, Harry wasn't sure he was even awake. "It's me," Harry said, feeling weird talking after such a long silence. "Just… Go back to bed.”  
Whew. Louis was stirring so he'll probably be up soon, it's likely a good idea for Harry to make his way to the usual meeting spot.

 

—

 

It's actually surprising how easy it is to sleep on a hill, Harry had been up for a few hours and it was almost noon when he saw Louis coming up. He was wearing yesterday's clothes and made no effort to fix his hair. It really looked like Harry had taken advantage of him but Lou didn't seem bothered.  
"All right," Harry said, "hit me.” … Wait he was forgetting something. “Also… Good morning.”  
Smooth  
Louis hesitated, He breezed in deeply, and he made his move, a stab was easily blocked, Harry countered at Louis’ face that the opening was taken by another stab.  
"You’ve… improved a lot, Louis." Harry wasn't sure what else to say.  
"Guess I just found something to look forward to in life.”  
“And what's that?" It's not you, Harry's head chorused. It's not you he cares about.  
"It's um… It's uh… Don't judge me, okay?”  
Harry nodded in anticipation, holding his breath, it's not you… It's not you… Not you…  
"It's… Poetry?" Louis flushed and gritted his teeth, waiting for disapproval.  
"That's awesome, Louis. Great job!”  
Of course he's a poet, he's sad and scrawny and messed up in an endearing way, it all makes sense! Relief and a strange disappointment waved over Harry.

—

It truly was the ideal practice, Louis listened to everything he was told and left early to work on poetry. Harry Met up with the other soldiers, made up for lost sleep, the usual, he supposed. Just after sundown Louis made his way over. "The view is much better than yesterday," he said, laughing nervously.  
The stars were visible, a great improvement from yesterday, but Harry new Louis took him here for more than stargazing. He leaned against him, fumbling with a piece of paper Harry knew was impossible to read in this light.  
"Want to hear the poem I did this afternoon?”  
“Mhmm,” Harry prepared himself for several hours of work and effort.  
“ Alright, here goes," Louis cleared his throat.  
“I hate poems,  
I can't rhyme,  
But I'd really like it…  
If you'd be mine”  
Harry was a little surprised, one four-line stanza that almost-rhymed in three hours?  
"Be mine, huh? Who's the poem for, Lou?” It's not you… It's not you… It's not you… Not… You… Harry's ears turn red, his heart pounded in his throat. It's… Not… You…  
“Well, um… It's for you." Louis scooted away and waited anxiously for Harry's response.  
Harry felt an immense weight lifted off his shoulders, he was speechless. It's him! He stood up and approached the cowering Louis scooping up all 5 kilos of him and holding him close.  
“It's okay Lou, I'm yours,” he whispered soothingly.  
The tears welling up in Louis’ eyes streamed down onto Harry’s shoulder. He held onto harry with all his strength. The two watched the sky together, Harry sitting criss-cross and Louis perched on his lap in his arms. The feeling lasted forever, it was an eternity of serene perfect bliss.  
The moment was interrupted by a yell coming from the camp site. Harry got up and made his way to the source; Louis one step behind, holding his hand along the way.  
"Styles!" Colonel Payne frantically ran towards him. , They’re marching toward camp! They're coming this way now!”  
Harry's heart sank, he booked at Louis with wide eyes, clutching his hand harder.

The battle has begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized the tenses in this fic are fucked to hell sometimes it's past tense sometimes it's present whatever time to die bye.


	4. Chapter 4

The battle was long and left many dead and wounded. Thankfully Harry was left relatively unscathed; a few bruised ribs, some small cups, nothing fatal. The main concern is finding out who's gone and who might as well be considering how hurt they are.  
"General! General!" A soldier ran towards harry beaten and hands tied. "They took prisoners, just me and another one, I got away but the other one's with them."  
Harry's heart sank, chills ran down his spine. 

Where is Louis?

**Author's Note:**

> This is predictable.  
> Googling Harry's name proved that meaning wrong it came from a baby book but whatever.  
> 


End file.
